The biggest South County football question was answered (probably) at the Boca Raton jamboree Friday night at Bobcat Stadium. D.J. McCarthy was the Bobcats` only quarterback, leading Boca to a one-half 7-0 victory over Atlantic. Chris Flowers, last year`s starting quarterback, played safety, but didn`t take a snap.

In the three quarters that followed the Boca-Atlantic half, Pope John Paul II beat Spanish River 9-0 and tied Martin County 6-6, and Martin County shut out Spanish River 12-0.

McCarthy, a 5-foot-9 senior who played for the junior varsity last season, scored Boca`s touchdown with a fourth-down, 1-yard bootleg around the right side.

McCarthy`s touchdown on the second play of the second quarter topped a relentless Boca drive that showcased the Bobcats` tank-like wing-T -- no razzle-dazzle, but count on the job getting done.

Without throwing a pass, the Bobcats, introducing their new Michigan-style helmets, marched 59 yards in 12 plays.

The big play of the drive was a 13-yard run off-tackle by junior halfback Phil Cartwright on third-and-1 at the Eagles` 36. But the real star of the drive was senior fullback Ricky Buck, who gained 26 yards on six carries.

Buck finished the half with 55 yards on nine carries.

McCarthy didn`t attempt a pass and gained only 8 yards on two carries. But he led Boca`s wing-T without error.

First-year coach Brian Van Gorder, however, wasn`t ready to hand over the offense to McCarthy. When asked if McCarthy would start when the Bobcats host Spanish River in the season opener Friday, Van Gorder said, ``Sure, if he wins the job.``

No question the Bobcats are pumped for the season. After beating the young Atlantic team in one half, the Boca players screamed and yelled in the locker room for 10 minutes.

Atlantic had no reason to celebrate. Junior Kevin Cornelius, who moved to quarterback from his cornerback spot of a year ago, made no glaring errors in the Eagles` first night with the wishbone since 1986, but did nothing spectacular. Five backs carried the ball, and none gained more than 7 yards.

Pope`s Mike Smith started the Eagles` quarter against Spanish River with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, cutting across the field three times and breaking free with 40 yards left. A bad snap (Pope`s second of the night) ruined the PAT.

``I started left, went right, came back left, then back right, and it all worked,`` Smith said. ``I had a couple of good blocks. It felt real good. Hopefully, we`ll do this again when we play Spanish River at the end of the season.``

Timothy Farrington fumbled the ensuing kickoff for Spanish River, and Boca recovered on the Sharks` 20. Twice Smith darted off tackle for a total of 10 yards, and Pope appeared ready to score its third touchdown of the night.

But the Eagles stalled when a pass from Tom Byrd to Scott Martinez came up short and Byrd`s third-down pass was incomplete.

With a good snap, Matt Turner kicked a 22-yard field goal for the night`s last score.

Against Martin County, Byrd hit Jason Zeilsdorff on a 13-yard slant pattern with 7 seconds left, capping a 50-yard drive that tied the quarter.

Like Boca, Pope appeared, well, efficient.

``We were hitting well, and we did some good things on defense, which was my main area of concern,`` said Pope coach Pete Christie. ``We had a few breakdowns, but nothing serious. I wanted consistency, and got it. The were no real mental errors.``

Spanish River`s only positive of the night was its ability to force, and recover, fumbles, which the Sharks did twice to Martin County.

But Martin County also forced its share of the action, scoring on a 6-yard run after blocking David Massias` first punt, and on 3-yard run after Mike Porter intercepted a pass by Adam Whitehurst and returned it 31 yards.

Against Pope, Spanish River didn`t have a down on offense until the Eagles had a 9-0 lead. The Sharks came out passing, but the much-touted combination of Whitehurst and receiver Ken Rowe didn`t connect once.